Observations on Mind Body Spirit by Peggy Elam, Ph.D.

February 22, 2015

While "snowed in" this past week I read the novel Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. I may be coming late to the party in commenting on this Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction space opera, but can't resist....while trying to refrain from spoilers.

The main character (or protagonist, to any other former English major) in the novel is an artificial intelligence (AI). At the beginning of the book the protagonist is occupying a single human body, one of myriad over millennia that were captured by imperial Radch forces, brainwashed, augmented, implanted and enslaved as ancillary soldier-and-servant extensions of the starship Justice of Toren.

How Justice of Toren's consciousness and identity shifted from multiple to singular, and her mission as the individual ancillary traverses an icy planet and encounters a human officer from her distant past, is revealed as the book shifts back and forth from present to recent past. The reader becomes aware that multiple identity and dissociation of identity comes into play for more than Justice of Toren. As a psychologist and therapist with expertise in dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, that interested me. But that's not what interests me most about Ancillary Justice. What I find most fascinating about the novel is how it employs gender and pronouns.

Justice of Toren's Radchaai culture and language is not gendered. That's not to say the species (which considers itself human) is not gendered -- just that the culture and language do not notice or refer to gender. Instead, they (and author Ann Leckie) use feminine pronouns and terms for everyone. Every person is referred to as "she," described as "daughter of ____ house" or clan or the like, with little or no indication of whether the body of the person is male or female.

As a result I went through the book imagining most of the characters as female, which I found pleasantly different from most other SF I've read. (Joan Slonczewski's A Door into Ocean being a notable exception.) However, at times I had to remind myself that earlier in the book character X was referred to as having a male body and thus was physically male even though the character was referred to as "she" throughout the book and sometimes acted and was treated like a damsel in distress. My perception of the gender of the singular Justice of Toren identity also shifted from female to male to neutral depending on the character's thoughts and actions. All of which made me consider my own assumptions and stereotypes about gender.

After finishing the book, I was still uncertain -- and curious -- about some major characters' gender. So of course I searched online for info about Ancillary Justiceand gender.

In this interview author Ann Leckie says that while she was writing Ancillary Justice she mentally assigned a gender to some characters but not others, and that even characters whom she started thinking of as one gender "ended up being a bit...slippery by the time I was done writing." Leckie likes that there's discussion about the characters whose gender is ambiguous, and has declined to say the genders she initially envisioned. She reveals that at least one central character started out as gendered in her mind and then became more gender-fluid as her writing, and the story, progressed.

Leckie was asked to change the "confusing" pronouns before the book was published by Orbit. She refused. (Yay, Leckie!) The book went on to win Hugo and Nebula awards, and Orbit has signed her to write two more novels in the same gender-ambiguous Radchaai universe.

And amazingly, Ancillary Justice has been optioned for TV by the production company and studio who created The Killing and Burn Notice. Before agreeing to the deal Leckie made clear her concerns about maintaining the book's approach to gender, and "was very pleased at their response." Of course an option doesn't mean a series or film will actually happen, but it's fun to think about how gender might be portrayed -- and, I hope, a lot of female and gender ambiguous actors employed -- in any subsequent series or film, and it's nice that Leckie's vision is respected.

If the gender ambiguity in Ancillary Justice interests you, you might also want to check out John Scalzi's 2014 SF novel Lock In, in which the protagonist's gender is not specified.

"When we were being trained as pediatricians, we were taught that babies develop in a straight line upward, but I realized they develop in spurts and then leveling-off periods. Just before each spurt, there is a period of regression when the child falls apart (the touchpoint) and the family falls apart. The child is irritable and won't eat or sleep.

"For example, just before children walk, they wake up at night and they scream during the day. The falling apart is a time the child is energizing himself to take the next step. These are predictable times and they are opportunities for helping parents understand the next step of development. They can see the falling apart as something positive instead of negative."

I don't have children, and as a psychologist don't work with young children, so I can't speak from experience about this process in the way Brazelton applies it. But I can certainly see it applying in adult development, and in my own life.

Many times it's right after I've experienced a period of overwhelm and things falling apart (cue memory of Yeats' "The Second Coming": "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold") that I realize some shift in awareness -- another step in personal healing or growth, a reorganization of my psyche around a different -- or larger -- perspective.I can see this happening in the world at large sometimes as well, with a period of upheaval following (or leading to) some cultural advance.

Ultimately I may be appreciative of the shift in consciousness while still disheartened by the events preceding it.

October 15, 2009

Harris describes how nonjudgmental mindfulness meditation helped her cultivate compassion for her struggles with "mental illness" and no longer identify with disparaging thoughts and labels.

I learned that I do not have to believe or obey my thoughts. Even a thought that seems highly charged like "kill yourself" really does not have to be listened to. Cheri Huber, an American Zen priest who is herself the survior of a suicide attempt, talks about our thoughts as "voices," and identifies the "voice of self hate" that is intensely active for so many of us. She says, simply and clearly: "If the voice is not loving, don't listen to, don't follow it, don't believe it. No exceptions."

Harris adds that lovingkindness meditation (metta), was initially taught by the Buddha as an antidote to fear.

One of the hot new research topics in neuroscience is the power of lovingkindness meditation as a remedy for chronic pain of all kinds, emotional and physical. I don't really care about the science behind it: I have personally experiencing the power of the practice. It has been a tremendous purification practice for me -- burning away many layers of shame and trauma that I never imagined would leave me. Layers that all the psychotherapy and drugs in the world could not budge.

We'd love to hear from YOU as well! This
is your chance to let us know what YOU want to read.

Featured Conversationalists will include:

Lynne Murray, author of the
Josephine Fuller mystery series, whose new book Bride of the
Living Dead will be published by Pearlsong Press;Pat Ballard,
Queen of Rubenesque Romances and author of 10 Steps to Loving Your
Body (No Matter What Size You Are); Frannie Zellman, author
of FatLand and editor and co-author of Fat Poets
Speak: Voices of the Fat Poets' Society; Charlie Lovett,
author of The Program; and Ellen Frankel, author of
Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature & Inner Growth
and co-author of The Diet Survivors' Handbook& Beyond A Shadow of A Diet.

Topics to be discussed will include why
these authors decided to write about fat characters, any challenges
in writing fat characters, and reactions from readers.

If you don't feel comfortable speaking up during the
teleconference―which will be recorded―then email your questions or
comments to me at peggyelam@pearlsong.com.

Emailpearlsongconversations@pearlsong.comfor the details (teleconference phone number
& access code) and call the teleconference
line at noon Eastern (11 a.m. Central) to listen and/or participate
in the hour-long Conversations. You can participate in one or both calls.

The line will handle up to 96 participants―first come, first served.
There's no cost for the calls other than your usual long distance charges.

We are recording these Pearlsong
Conversations and making them available for listening online or
downloading after the calls. You can find links to the previous Conversation recordings on the
Pearlsong
Conversations webpage.

Schwitzer, a professor at the University of Minnesota health journalism program, notes that such actions are conflicts of interest and violate the SPJ code of ethics. He cites a 2008 article in the British Medical Journalwarning that "Doctors should be wary of the increasing entanglement of medical journalists and the drug industry."

So should consumers.

Keep this in mind next time you come across news reporting of medical or mental health issues, especially when drugs are involved.

Food for Thought: In the shadow of contemporary hysteria about "obesity" the reality of food insecurity
is usually ignored. The Life Sciences Research Office defined food
insecurity as "existing whenever the availability of nutritionally
adequate and safe foods or the ability to acquire acceptable food in
socially acceptable ways is limited or uncertain." (This definition is
a from a 2005 Journal of the American Dietetic Associationarticle
on "the hunger-obesity paradox.") The mean Body Mass Index of women in
food-insecure households is higher than in food-secure households. The JADAarticle
urges dietetics professionals not to make assumptions about food
insecurity status by looking at someone's weight. In fact, "obese
adults are more likely to be food insecure." (Which I relate not only
to poverty but to chronic dieting.)

"That
millions of men, women and children go hungry in one of the wealthiest
countries in human history is a shameful reality. That this and other
critical problems in America's food system get obscured from public
view by bloated concerns over issues like obesity is all the more
disgraceful."

September 24, 2008

Over at PsychCentral Margarita Tartakovsky, MS has a refreshingly sane and Health-At-Every-Size-friendly article addressing facts, fallacies, and fears about the so-called "Freshman 15," which refers to a tendency for some college students to gain weight their first year.

She points out that articles and other advice offering "healthy lifestyle" tips to combat collegiate weight gain foster a fear of fat and encourage or reinforce anxiety, poor body image, and harmful weight-focused behaviors like severely limiting caloric intake and other eating-disordered behavior and ideation.

But she goes even further to point out that

Focusing on the Freshman 15 also automatically equates thinness with health...Interestingly, a woman who's considered the ideal size by society could have harmful habits, including smoking, eating a highly restricted diet (or regularly feasting on fast food) and leading a sedentary lifestyle, but on the outside, we'd see her as the paragon of health, whereas a woman who doesn't fit today's standards who eats a wholesome diet, exercises regularly and has never picked up a cigarette--is anything but.

Similarly, wihether a college student gained or lost weight in college isn't automatically a terrible or terrific thing. There might be more to the numbers on the scale.

Maybe some students shed pounds because they were sick the entire semester, went on a dangerously lot-cal diet or were too stressed out with school to eat. Maybe other students gained weight because they started eating healthfully again, began working out and put on muscle or recovered from an illness.

....Instead of terrifying students into leading a healthier lifestyle because there's a chance of weight gain, wouldn't it be better to discuss health in general, separate from weight?

Her solution -- and the one I recommend:

Let's take the Freshman 15 out of our vernacular, and instead of sending prospective college students into a panic about possible weight gain, put the emphasis on where it belongs: on overall health and well-being.

Lynne Murray: At LargeThe 3rd book in the Josephine Fuller mystery series finds Jo a suspect in the death of the woman who broke up her marriage.

Tracey L. Thompson: FatropolisMost of her life Jenny has felt she's not good enough, not attractive enough, because she's fat. Then one day she stumbles through a portal between a world that values thinness and one that values roundness. Sometimes falling can wake you up.

Leslie Moïse: Love is the Thread: A Knitting FriendshipSustained by the metaphor of knitting, Love is the Thread traces the way one spiritual friendship can change all our relationships. The memoir centers on the friendship between a woman snared in a lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder and another woman reweaving her life after an abusive relationship.

Lynne Murray: The Falstaff Vampire FilesSir John Falstaff is undead & misbehaving in San Francisco. Kris Marlowe doesn't believe in vampires, but when she's attacked by a horde of murderous monsters she must seek help from the most famous rogue in history.

Lynne Murray: Larger Than DeathMeet Josephine Fuller, a sleuth of size who doesn't apologize. Full-figured & full of attitude with abundant sleuthing skills, Jo takes time off from her new job and walks into a murder case. Her best friend and early role model, a plus-sized clothing designer, lies slain in her own apartment. Was she the victim of a serial killer who targets voluptuous women, or is the murder personal? In the first of a series being brought back to print -- & ebook -- Jo copes with her friend's murder, an unexpected romance and bizarre neighbors as she races to find the killer before becoming the next victim.

Lauri J Owen: Blowing EmbersBook 2 of The Embers Series (sequel to Fallen Embers) continues the saga of Kiera, transported to an alternate Alaska in which those who have the power to control the elements -- now including Kiera -- have ruled over those who cannot, including the shapeshifting indigenous peoples. The Fairbanks slaves struggle to maintain their newly won freedom, which is threatened by a force that will also shatter Kiera's heart.

Pat Ballard: Dangerous LoveNew romantic suspense from the Queen of Rubenesque Romances! Ava Manning saw some research she wasn't supposed to, and now someone wants her dead. As if that isn't complicating her life enough, she has to deal with charming LAPD detective Ricky Don McKinzie....

Karen Blomain: The Season of Lost ChildrenIn a small college town in Pennsylvania the lives of a bigamist's wife, a Polish orphan, an ex-priest and his wife -- a former nun -- and a mute teenage runaway intersect.

Charlie Lovett: The Fat Lady SingsYoung Adult fiction. Sassy, irreverent Aggie Stockdale should have gotten the lead in her high school play. But she isn't just a talented actress, writer, and athlete. She's also the fattest girl in the senior class.

Ellen Frankel: Syd ArthurLove, Laughter & Enlightenment! A middle-aged Jewish woman is soon in over her chakras as her spiritual search takes her from yoga studio to meditation hall to ashram gift store to the pages of Zensational catalogue. Her Mah Jongg group insists it's merely a midlife crisis. But nothing's going to stop Syd's journey toward Nirvana -- not even the hottest sale at Nordstrom's.

Lauri J Owen: Fallen EmbersKiera and her nephew are transported to an alternate, feudal Alaska during a strange dog's attack. The icy land is ruled by decadent mages who have enslaved the shapechanging, indigenous peoples. Kiera soon finds herself fighting -- and, to her astonishment, summoning fire. Before she can find her way home she must learn about the local systems of magic and her own powers. Kiera's path leads her deeper into Alaska, to romance, joy and heartbreak. Choosing to follow her heart may cost her everything.

Lynne Murray: Bride of the Living DeadBig, beautiful & rebellious, indie film critic Daria MacClellan is most comfortable in a monster movie poster T-shirt & blue jeans. Yet when family drama hijacks her engagement, she's trapped into a formal wedding with her perfectionist, anorexic sister, Sky, planning the whole thing. Daria adores her fiance, but her wedding seems to be spiraling into a horror film. Will the spectre of a picture perfect wedding turn her into the Bride of the Living Dead?

Rebecca Brock: The Giving SeasonTo have the life she's always dreamed of, Jessy must fight her insecurity and learn how to let Michael -- and his family -- love her just as she is.

Frannie Zellman: FatLandIn the near future the Pro-Health Laws of the United States of America have become so oppressive that people seeking freedom over their bodies have established a new country. In FatLand, life is good and scales are forbidden. Free from the hatred and discrimination of the Other Side, FatLanders have built happy, productive lives. But not everyone is flourishing.

Charlie Lovett: The ProgramA new weight loss clinic in New York City has an offer for you -- given them $5,000 and they'll make you as thin as a supermodel. You can eat whatever you want and never gain an ounce. Tempted? Fledgling journalist Karen Sumner would be -- if only she had $5,000. When Karen finally walks through the blue and gold doors of The Program, however, she's on the trail of the hottest story of her career. If she and her friends are right, The Program is doing something even worse than creating an army of unnaturally thin women. Library Journal calls The Program "a lively first novel. Highly recommended."

Linda C Wisniewski: Off Kilter: A Woman's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, and Her Polish HeritageEven before she was diagnosed with scoliosis at 13, Linda Wisniewski felt off kilter. Born to a cruel father in the insulated Polish Catholic community of Amsterdam, New York, she learned martyrdom as a way of life. Off Kilter shows her learning to stretch her Self as well as her spine as she comes to terms with her mentally deteriorating, widowed mother and her culture. Only by accepting her physical deformity, her emotionally unavailable mother, and her Polish American heritage does she finally find balance and a life that fits. Maureen Murdock, author of Unreliable Truth: On Memoir & Memory, calls Off Kilter "a courageous, insightful book, particularly relevant for anyone who grew up feeling physically 'different.'"

Pat, Ballard: The Best ManSparks fly the night Lana Clarke meets to plan her sister's wedding -- and not just because curvaceous Lana announces she's stopped dieting and doesn't care if she's fat as maid of honor. The strong-willed sister of the bride attracts the attention of the groom's devastatingly handsome best man, Anthony Angelino. But when the sparks become flames, Lana's in trouble. Tony's first wife died mysteriously. Will Lana be next?

Judy Bagshaw: At Long Last, LoveBig beautiful --and in some cases slightly more mature -- heroines grace the pages of this collection of romantic short stories by Judy Bagshaw.

Jack Adler: Splendid SeniorsAn inspiring ensemble of 52 people whose accomplishments after age 65 remind us that creativity, passion & influence can not only flower in later years, but bear delicious fruit.

Mary Saracino: The Singing of Swans"The Singing of Swans is a remarkable narrative calling--even compelling--us to connect with our own ancestral roots, to seek our own inner wisdom, and to reclaim our own inner voices!" --Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman With the Alabaster Jar & Mary Magdalene: Bride in Exile

Ellen Frankel: Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature and Inner Growth"If you have ever measured your height or your weight and felt good or bad about yourself as a result, you need this book. In its pages, Ellen Frankel makes an important contribution to human liberation by telling the most fabulous story that can be told, the story of a person coming fully into her own. This book is thought-provoking, heart-rending, and a genuine solace for people of all sizes." --Marilyn Wann, author of FAT!SO?

Pat Ballard: Abigail's RevengeInjustice, romance and suspense smolder in a small Southern town. Romantic suspense from the Queen of Rubenesque Romances, Pat Ballard.

Pattie Thomas, Ph.D.: Taking Up Space"Thomas's incisive blend of sociological inquiry and personal narrative amounts to a provocative treatise on fat oppression in our culture. Taking Up Space is a kind of roadmap through the minefield of the 'war on obesity,' and it offers protection to the reader ready to fight for cultural change surrounding the meaning of fatness." --Kathleen LeBesco, Ph.D., author of Revotling Bodies: The Struggle to Redefine Fat Identity.

Anne Richardson Williams: Unconventional Means: The Dream Down UnderShattered by family tragedy in the early 1960s, an upper-middle-class Southern teenager finds solace in art and literature. Decades later she is called to the continent whose literature once comforted her, and to a magical connection with an Aboriginal woman transcending race and half a world.

Pat Ballard: A Worthy HeirWhen Pam Spencer sees the newspaper ad seeking "a worthy heir" to Fiona Bainbridge's millions, she jumps at the chance to get her brother the medical care he needs after a job-related accident. But Reese Bainbridge, Fiona's handsome grandson--and jilted heir--rushes home in anger when he hears his grandmother has moved Pam and her brother into the family mansion. Sparks fly--and Pam is up to the challenge.

Pat Ballard: His Brother's ChildOne party, one silver-tongued, double-talking stranger intent on winning a bet, and Faith Carr ends up betrayed, alone, and pregnant. When Edward Brenner shows up on her doorstep intending to right his brother's wrongs, she's scared and vulnerable. But she agrees to marry this stranger to give the baby a father, although keeping him at a distance. She doesn't realize that Edward fell in love with her the moment he saw her. Will her battered self-esteem allow her to see the truth--and her own beauty?

Pat Ballard: Wanted: One GroomWealthy Hanna Rockwell will lose her home and her inheritance unless she marries by her 30th birthday. She's stunned when Matt Corbett, the faded rock start she worshipped in her teens, accepts her brother's offer to bail him out of financial trouble if he'll marry her. Her teenaged fantasies come to life--bringing a few surprises with them.

Pat Ballard: Nobody's PerfectNella Covington can't believe she's agreed to marry arrogant Samuel du Cannon, even if it IS only a marriage of convenience. He needs a mother for his young son, and she needs to keep her childhood home. If Sam's work keeps him on the road enough, she won't have to deal with him much. Sam's never been attracted to plus-size women, so they won't be tempted to have a real relationship. At least, that's what they keep telling themselves--

Lynne Murray: At LargeThe 3rd book in the Josephine Fuller mystery series finds Jo a suspect in the death of the woman who broke up her marriage.

Tracey L. Thompson: FatropolisMost of her life Jenny has felt she's not good enough, not attractive enough, because she's fat. Then one day she stumbles through a portal between a world that values thinness and one that values roundness. Sometimes falling can wake you up.

Leslie Moïse: Love is the Thread: A Knitting FriendshipSustained by the metaphor of knitting, Love is the Thread traces the way one spiritual friendship can change all our relationships. The memoir centers on the friendship between a woman snared in a lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder and another woman reweaving her life after an abusive relationship.

Lynne Murray: The Falstaff Vampire FilesSir John Falstaff is undead & misbehaving in San Francisco. Kris Marlowe doesn't believe in vampires, but when she's attacked by a horde of murderous monsters she must seek help from the most famous rogue in history.

Lynne Murray: Larger Than DeathMeet Josephine Fuller, a sleuth of size who doesn't apologize. Full-figured & full of attitude with abundant sleuthing skills, Jo takes time off from her new job and walks into a murder case. Her best friend and early role model, a plus-sized clothing designer, lies slain in her own apartment. Was she the victim of a serial killer who targets voluptuous women, or is the murder personal? In the first of a series being brought back to print -- & ebook -- Jo copes with her friend's murder, an unexpected romance and bizarre neighbors as she races to find the killer before becoming the next victim.

Lauri J Owen: Blowing EmbersBook 2 of The Embers Series (sequel to Fallen Embers) continues the saga of Kiera, transported to an alternate Alaska in which those who have the power to control the elements -- now including Kiera -- have ruled over those who cannot, including the shapeshifting indigenous peoples. The Fairbanks slaves struggle to maintain their newly won freedom, which is threatened by a force that will also shatter Kiera's heart.

Pat Ballard: Dangerous LoveNew romantic suspense from the Queen of Rubenesque Romances! Ava Manning saw some research she wasn't supposed to, and now someone wants her dead. As if that isn't complicating her life enough, she has to deal with charming LAPD detective Ricky Don McKinzie....

Karen Blomain: The Season of Lost ChildrenIn a small college town in Pennsylvania the lives of a bigamist's wife, a Polish orphan, an ex-priest and his wife -- a former nun -- and a mute teenage runaway intersect.

Charlie Lovett: The Fat Lady SingsYoung Adult fiction. Sassy, irreverent Aggie Stockdale should have gotten the lead in her high school play. But she isn't just a talented actress, writer, and athlete. She's also the fattest girl in the senior class.

Ellen Frankel: Syd ArthurLove, Laughter & Enlightenment! A middle-aged Jewish woman is soon in over her chakras as her spiritual search takes her from yoga studio to meditation hall to ashram gift store to the pages of Zensational catalogue. Her Mah Jongg group insists it's merely a midlife crisis. But nothing's going to stop Syd's journey toward Nirvana -- not even the hottest sale at Nordstrom's.

Lauri J Owen: Fallen EmbersKiera and her nephew are transported to an alternate, feudal Alaska during a strange dog's attack. The icy land is ruled by decadent mages who have enslaved the shapechanging, indigenous peoples. Kiera soon finds herself fighting -- and, to her astonishment, summoning fire. Before she can find her way home she must learn about the local systems of magic and her own powers. Kiera's path leads her deeper into Alaska, to romance, joy and heartbreak. Choosing to follow her heart may cost her everything.

Lynne Murray: Bride of the Living DeadBig, beautiful & rebellious, indie film critic Daria MacClellan is most comfortable in a monster movie poster T-shirt & blue jeans. Yet when family drama hijacks her engagement, she's trapped into a formal wedding with her perfectionist, anorexic sister, Sky, planning the whole thing. Daria adores her fiance, but her wedding seems to be spiraling into a horror film. Will the spectre of a picture perfect wedding turn her into the Bride of the Living Dead?

Rebecca Brock: The Giving SeasonTo have the life she's always dreamed of, Jessy must fight her insecurity and learn how to let Michael -- and his family -- love her just as she is.

Frannie Zellman: FatLandIn the near future the Pro-Health Laws of the United States of America have become so oppressive that people seeking freedom over their bodies have established a new country. In FatLand, life is good and scales are forbidden. Free from the hatred and discrimination of the Other Side, FatLanders have built happy, productive lives. But not everyone is flourishing.

Charlie Lovett: The ProgramA new weight loss clinic in New York City has an offer for you -- given them $5,000 and they'll make you as thin as a supermodel. You can eat whatever you want and never gain an ounce. Tempted? Fledgling journalist Karen Sumner would be -- if only she had $5,000. When Karen finally walks through the blue and gold doors of The Program, however, she's on the trail of the hottest story of her career. If she and her friends are right, The Program is doing something even worse than creating an army of unnaturally thin women. Library Journal calls The Program "a lively first novel. Highly recommended."

Linda C Wisniewski: Off Kilter: A Woman's Journey to Peace with Scoliosis, Her Mother, and Her Polish HeritageEven before she was diagnosed with scoliosis at 13, Linda Wisniewski felt off kilter. Born to a cruel father in the insulated Polish Catholic community of Amsterdam, New York, she learned martyrdom as a way of life. Off Kilter shows her learning to stretch her Self as well as her spine as she comes to terms with her mentally deteriorating, widowed mother and her culture. Only by accepting her physical deformity, her emotionally unavailable mother, and her Polish American heritage does she finally find balance and a life that fits. Maureen Murdock, author of Unreliable Truth: On Memoir & Memory, calls Off Kilter "a courageous, insightful book, particularly relevant for anyone who grew up feeling physically 'different.'"

Pat, Ballard: The Best ManSparks fly the night Lana Clarke meets to plan her sister's wedding -- and not just because curvaceous Lana announces she's stopped dieting and doesn't care if she's fat as maid of honor. The strong-willed sister of the bride attracts the attention of the groom's devastatingly handsome best man, Anthony Angelino. But when the sparks become flames, Lana's in trouble. Tony's first wife died mysteriously. Will Lana be next?

Judy Bagshaw: At Long Last, LoveBig beautiful --and in some cases slightly more mature -- heroines grace the pages of this collection of romantic short stories by Judy Bagshaw.

Jack Adler: Splendid SeniorsAn inspiring ensemble of 52 people whose accomplishments after age 65 remind us that creativity, passion & influence can not only flower in later years, but bear delicious fruit.

Mary Saracino: The Singing of Swans"The Singing of Swans is a remarkable narrative calling--even compelling--us to connect with our own ancestral roots, to seek our own inner wisdom, and to reclaim our own inner voices!" --Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman With the Alabaster Jar & Mary Magdalene: Bride in Exile

Ellen Frankel: Beyond Measure: A Memoir About Short Stature and Inner Growth"If you have ever measured your height or your weight and felt good or bad about yourself as a result, you need this book. In its pages, Ellen Frankel makes an important contribution to human liberation by telling the most fabulous story that can be told, the story of a person coming fully into her own. This book is thought-provoking, heart-rending, and a genuine solace for people of all sizes." --Marilyn Wann, author of FAT!SO?

Pat Ballard: Abigail's RevengeInjustice, romance and suspense smolder in a small Southern town. Romantic suspense from the Queen of Rubenesque Romances, Pat Ballard.

Pattie Thomas, Ph.D.: Taking Up Space"Thomas's incisive blend of sociological inquiry and personal narrative amounts to a provocative treatise on fat oppression in our culture. Taking Up Space is a kind of roadmap through the minefield of the 'war on obesity,' and it offers protection to the reader ready to fight for cultural change surrounding the meaning of fatness." --Kathleen LeBesco, Ph.D., author of Revotling Bodies: The Struggle to Redefine Fat Identity.

Anne Richardson Williams: Unconventional Means: The Dream Down UnderShattered by family tragedy in the early 1960s, an upper-middle-class Southern teenager finds solace in art and literature. Decades later she is called to the continent whose literature once comforted her, and to a magical connection with an Aboriginal woman transcending race and half a world.

Pat Ballard: A Worthy HeirWhen Pam Spencer sees the newspaper ad seeking "a worthy heir" to Fiona Bainbridge's millions, she jumps at the chance to get her brother the medical care he needs after a job-related accident. But Reese Bainbridge, Fiona's handsome grandson--and jilted heir--rushes home in anger when he hears his grandmother has moved Pam and her brother into the family mansion. Sparks fly--and Pam is up to the challenge.

Pat Ballard: His Brother's ChildOne party, one silver-tongued, double-talking stranger intent on winning a bet, and Faith Carr ends up betrayed, alone, and pregnant. When Edward Brenner shows up on her doorstep intending to right his brother's wrongs, she's scared and vulnerable. But she agrees to marry this stranger to give the baby a father, although keeping him at a distance. She doesn't realize that Edward fell in love with her the moment he saw her. Will her battered self-esteem allow her to see the truth--and her own beauty?

Pat Ballard: Wanted: One GroomWealthy Hanna Rockwell will lose her home and her inheritance unless she marries by her 30th birthday. She's stunned when Matt Corbett, the faded rock start she worshipped in her teens, accepts her brother's offer to bail him out of financial trouble if he'll marry her. Her teenaged fantasies come to life--bringing a few surprises with them.

Pat Ballard: Nobody's PerfectNella Covington can't believe she's agreed to marry arrogant Samuel du Cannon, even if it IS only a marriage of convenience. He needs a mother for his young son, and she needs to keep her childhood home. If Sam's work keeps him on the road enough, she won't have to deal with him much. Sam's never been attracted to plus-size women, so they won't be tempted to have a real relationship. At least, that's what they keep telling themselves--